The United States Advances America-First Drug Control Agenda
at the 69th Commission on Narcotic Drugs
Vienna, Austria — At the 69th session of the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs in Vienna March 9-13, the United States advanced President Trump’s America First counter narcotics priorities. The United States pressed for stronger international action against synthetic drugs, precursor chemicals, narcotrafficking, and transnational criminal organizations. Championing these efforts, the United States secured adoption of its resolution on protecting supply chains, making it harder for traffickers to exploit legitimate trade and shipping systems to manufacture and move deadly synthetic drugs.
The U.S. delegation was led by White House National Drug Control Policy Director Sara Carter and included Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s Special Representative to the 69th Commission on Narcotic Drugs Cartwright Weiland, U.S. Department of State Senior Bureau Official for the Bureau of International Organizations McCoy Pitt, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Lesley Ziman, and Chargé d’Affaires of the U.S. Mission to International Organizations in Vienna Howard Solomon.
Director Carter underscored the United States’ efforts to protect Americans from illicit narcotics: “President Trump and his administration are working tirelessly to drive a stronger global response against narcotrafficking. This includes designating fentanyl, and its precursors, weapons of mass destruction, and securing the supply chain from bad actors who abuse it to peddle their poison. Our top priority is working on behalf of Americans to ensure that no family will ever have to suffer the loss of their loved ones to drug overdose or poisoning.”
In a win for the American people, the United States secured approval for its resolution to stop traffickers from exploiting legitimate shipping and supply chains to manufacture and move deadly illicit synthetic drugs. Despite being the world’s largest producer of precursor chemicals for fentanyl and other synthetic drugs, China was the sole Member State to vote against the resolution. Additionally, the United States voted in support of the Commission’s decision to place three new dangerous substances under international control, including two new synthetic opioids and a synthetic cannabinoid.
Special Representative Cartwright Weiland called on countries to stop hiding behind process, empty rhetoric, and ineffective programming, and instead deliver measurable action against the serious threat of drug trafficking. As Weiland stated, “We ask countries that blindly trust the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and the NGO industrial complex to ruthlessly scrutinize funded programs to ensure real impact. And we ask all those who sponsor and debate resolutions this week to ensure that they lead to concrete actions back home that can be documented and reported at the Commission on Narcotic Drugs next year.”
On the margins of the Commission, the United States hosted a side event with over 300 attendees to press Europe, the world’s largest consumer market for cocaine after North America, to increase its security assistance to Western Hemisphere partners to combat transnational criminal organizations and the global drug trade at the source. Chargé d’Affaires Howard Solomon emphasized the importance of strong law enforcement partnerships in confronting these threats. The U.S. side event reinforced a shared commitment to expand practical coordination, strengthen information sharing, and deepen security and law enforcement cooperation across regions.
In another key success, U.S. candidate Professor Patt Prugh won election to the Commission on Narcotic Drugs expert panel that will review the international drug control treaties. Her election will help ensure the panel is guided by strong American expertise while supporting strict enforcement of the international drug conventions.
At the 69th Commission on Narcotic Drugs, the United States secured concrete results that strengthened the global drug control system, increased accountability, and pressed partners to move from talk to action. The United States led efforts against drug production, trafficking networks, and the precursor chemicals fueling the synthetic drug crisis, making it harder for dangerous drugs to reach our streets, and keeping America safer.
